Printing machine



Sept. 7, 1943. R. THOMAS PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 26, 1940 7Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENIOR. RIC ARD THOMAS ATTO EY.

INVENTOR.

RICHARD 'THOMAS R. THOMAS PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 26, 1940 Sept. 7,1943;

7 Sheets-Sheet 3 n n M Q 6 60 md. Wmo 1 I 5. 5 m-W H I. m/a v F 7 f .V

INVENTOR.

RIC ARE THOMAS a I ATTORNEY.

v Sept. 1943- R. THOMAS PRINTING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 26,1940 INVENTORI. RD THOMAS ATTORNE 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENT OR. D THOMASR. THOMAS PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 26, 1940 Sept. 7, 1943.

ATTO EY.

Sept. 7, 1943. R. THOMAS PRINTING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed Feb.26, 1940 RICHARD THOMAS BY A'ITO EY.

" 77!! it i I I 2,328,861

idler gear assembly that is provided to control I in 28, showing how thewheel is resiliently the relative positions of the total price wheelslocked to the shaft in a manner that will permit with respect to themovement imparted to the the wheel to be revolved on the shaftin onedirecunit price wheels; v i I tlon and linked to the shaft when turnedin the Fig. 12 is a vertical transverse sectional view oppositedirection to enable the total price wheels taken on the line l2l2 ofFig. 1, looking in the to be returned to their normal position after adirection of the arrows, the listing paper being total recording hasbeen made;

. removed;

' the eccentrio'sha ft' that presses" the" ribbon Fig. 31s a 51 "that isprovided toresiliently hold'the .bar away' Fig. v30 is a viewiJlustrating how the total Fig. 13 is an enlarged view, illustrating howwheel sha ts are resilientlyheld in their normal.

the recording' ribbon band is vertically-moved by pq i nf n 1 1 I 7 I Vde elevational'view of the casin against the price wheels; v q fandillustrates the exact size of the device.

' the accompanying drawings wherein for the Fig. I, 14 is. anenlarged'fraginentary sectional l view of one of the bars that is'provided"'betweeh @PW'PQfiQ 9 i11uStatin iS ShOwn a Preferred F" i thelisting paper and. eccentricsfand also shows od e of my m n, the numeral35 l a guide that is provided to suppurtthebar; nats an Oblong tan u arCasing 1511341315 P Fig; 15 is an endsectional' -view'of 'thegbarandq1::

guide shown in Fig. 14 and also shows ,a spring oblong compartments 35Aand 3513, as shown in l figmthepapenandagainshtheflecgemrms; I ablecover, ,ashshow n Fig 1. numerals 1 Fig} 116"fis angfenlargedaseemmyview; looking A 3'5 md, 36C1des1gnate a.ser n t hf iem ehiiis f r neiasi-e eeesp ien cons ted -gear I; and ra m l mfil si i ar-t i 1ex ent ehawn lookihgeironithe rightehand. .side-.qf vt device d ancontrol-the.totallpric qontrol'one, totalpricewheelwithrespect to'Jtheptem 'i' j 1 'Fig. 24. is a.yiew eillustrating how .thei listin I one'ofthe 'unit price Wheels .alidlllifltieijdoidin of {th unit rige wheels'and "the; eiiedis ri g; I

5 unii p j ce jiiheels a d tchet wheel driving Pro i ean i pr er i t thePrice re ably made of metal and is provided with two i Fig '3 lwhi1e thenumeral 36 designates a suitdinaljlots, formedgin the-top faceof thecover in, peratings and fi min 1 312 P l-ih F 0 ai u d enable oneend'portion of the 'listing tape to ex;

,1 t ejfc re a hown Fi8 r .id i small;

' portion" oi the coveradiacent eachfside of the lot. i3 .s nr fi elyiiqrmedi own rd as oi -v ii tl t wi ermt ei s na i t me ime j'ectedthrough'said slotatan oblique angle. l g .Any suitable means may beprovided to carry 2 is an:

t e vi iiv c whe l sha tahdth r the wheeLdrivihgmembers, illustrating--the loeations fi'ized' transversely infthe'upper portion of the cas rand ra sh th' wheeism 42 43 and ll'hereinafter termed wheels and1llustrates then-.rela H new... M I r i Fig 22 is ant-enlargedlbnitudinal assembly, 45 the total-price wheels, are, revolubly mountedo and arranged in parallel relation with and underneath the" iihi't'piic whe 'Shaft 45, Th e llnlt wheels thatare 7 provided Etta; relativel-ope wheels;

ni'eral charact'ers from naught 'to nine inclusive giiiajzsjie anenlarged eeejeiaaiehei a cording'tapes" 48, 49, and lifl are fastenedsubstantially. to the unit price wheels 38, 39, and.

tape that 1s d p df W dl lmm asshown'in Fig'125, or to be unwoundtherefrom; I asshown inFigJCl. T A pluralityofpins'BLBZ, 53-;

and; 4"are .fixed intoithe casing 35 and arranged -underneaththerecording tapes, as shown in Figs.

" tend longitudinally out of. the casing and throu h andjcontrol thenumeralcharacters requiredin thedevice; The prefe'rred constructioncons'is'ts in providing a plurality of wheels 38, 39, andffllihereinafter termed the unit price'wheels, and

ingfasshownin Figs;- 1} 4, '10,and 11. Likewise,

tallic or 'refractory material; and all 'carry nu- I v. thatfareforine'd fon or otherwise fixed to the top 55 fa'ce 'of eaohtape. The''fro'nt ends 'of theree andareadapted tobe 'woiindaround said wheels,

1 and 25, to cause the tapesto windand unareipi'ovidedgrespectively;with price recording "bands i55; 56,*'51',' and 58;: which are fixedonto;

a 'd" tu te -i in Ta contr aclock' e. g f fgg n ac e i i Q theqouter perpheries of saiclwheels said bands '2s 'isehehiereea fade viewerdHeQii'thB wf suitable material. andbarryr total prieefwheel and a ine hre mgafiqww- 7 mg thenUmeraT'c'haracters from naught tonine ismadeihfthe vferrirofa hand; n'd substantially inclusive.

'-- -'g.29 is'a view or ene er-the tetar rie wheels i ch pi videwithapoiledfsprine5 ,35 Sh wn with thereee di 'bani jremeveiiand'ih kinat il'l Fig. zeg-the innefend of which is fastened'td- 1 the o'ppositeside of the wheel from that shown? the wheel shaft and the outer end tothe wheeLas 7 Fig; i 1 "there is 1 illustrated to printing or recordingiribhonifif thalt is prefer; ably made inuthe formwofl aiband"qandtisfarranged? within "the casing .in frontso'f the unit -"ainditoiiahpricewheelsin' close proximity thereto and carried on suitable: rollers '63and 64; t Alplui'ality of pins 165aret providedtto.holdthe i recbrding'ribbon in tf'itskrpropen pesition-orilthe' "rollers? :A tape routsmounted'zinxthe front endilportion of the .casiiig ;i is =carriedi on asuitable shaft; It is 'toibeobserved thattth'e said tapei's'itledtoiitwardlyoverxal rollerfll and underneath ;a;nother.ro11er;10and. adjacent to the: recordin ribbon 62', land thencje iupwardlyuinparailei -relag, tioii withllsaid ribbon to ahd between twot'fri'c- 1 iannoblique t "angleithrough the casing cover-3B. j l" t A preferredmeansfor pressing the tape against theribbcn'antt pricewheels comprisesaph' rali-ty lofteeccentricimembers H and 1%"thatare1 fixed;respectively, on shaftsj 3::and 14 andwwiiich are a y shownlin FigLZ'I,said s'btingSQiQrheihg icapable o'fi'revoiving theiunitp'rice. wheels inJan antirciockwise direction itq iretractitheurecordingtapesndrmalvpositionltafter the amine of a sale hasheenlisted'.

all'fthe total .price Wheelstto betretuiiied to their position after: a.itotalisaie price has Fbeen listedrliy simply revolving thejtotaltzpricewheel shafti and also'ailows each total price wheehto beirrdividualiyirevolvedon theiwheelyshaift when 2. fiotali'sale priceis-beingh'stedJ i i 1 adiranta'ge revolubly supportedwin he casing and;arranged 1'8, -asj shown 1 in- Figs. and 15. l *The (bars are thus; heldawa from the tape when they r are in theirj normal position but areadapted :tottbe pressed; a ainst the tapewheneven the eccentrics areoperatedtorecord-the price of a -sale 'olii'sales; It wiihbe observedthat the eceentrictmemher l k andithe bar 15 ereprevided to press thetape and s recording =ribben against the unit price :wheels; 1 whiletheeccentric membert'IZ andmthe bar-JG are provided to press the-tapeand reeordin iribfbonagainst 'thet totalt price Wheels. he unitpricewheei eccentric shaft l3 extend-.s' thrb h the. casing-candiprovided with aa-handle The total price wheel eccentricgshait 114- is vi iw t e r a th 'is d ted to n age, aggear -19 that is fixeden i QFigs-land 10. The said'shaf 8Q extendsfthrough Ythe'casings andissprovided -withyarhandietaI y .hereinbefore statedj the unitwpricei'wheeis are each provided with price; re cordinggitape that cariiesnumeral characters from fnaughtito nin -inclusive, and saidgpricetwheels' areresil. "ientlyiheld in their manner-position A'preierrea mans: rfor'1:,c0ntrol1ingiisaidf id c rdin n-tapes ate The total pricelwheels f are each provided with ieurvedxspring 60= that i StmQIiIItI-Zfdsrwithin each H wvheelwahdxfastened thereto by a pinifi I as shown 29.Thetotakiwheehshaft lli is formed it which 'provides ashoiilder forengagingwith-the spring -61 to tlo ck izhe wheeltand. shaft together wimrespect 'to; their "turning in'one directionebut allows the wheel toxzberevolve't iuonthe snawm e oppositeldirection: lilhisiconstiuction'permits;

he ilisti 1 aft 8Q, aspshownrin wa her structedii'atchetpi'r'isia wand84 thaharew'cdncialliy" cbns'triicted ratchet bar'85 for-engagement withsaid r atc zhet' pins; and another bar or plate 88 that iszadaptedttd beadjustablyfcontrolled for hich are assembled 3*,a'nd4 EzJAtttaritiomiSdifectedito':figslfdand 6, h hich ar zgreatly-enlarged 1 viewsillustrating the pre ferred construction of theiratcht piri's, ratchethar anwthe bar for supporting said-bins? ItwiH be: noted;;tha-t*eachratchet pin zflzj' 83, :and 81. is "guided;andficdritrollediseparately inns-respective guidewaytBi'g-l' that'iszp'rovided to 3 centroid the adiust'able bar 86 .ferfrel'easing'theratchet 15mm pins froinithe out: ivaidnpositibn so that'itheylmaybemoved; wh'en the device is cbeingwoperated, to :a position/as shown inFig. F1; tomoye the; recording tapes outotally orinectedionshaftsiflimfand SIBthat are arranged: transversely underneath the bar andisZeccehtricaliyfconnected to ltheleccen'tricfshaft 13. i This eccentricconne'cticnfl" is in siich re- Iatieni tc' Ith'e eccentrics on saideccentric it shaft asito' caiise thelbar =86 to aiitomaticallywraise durthe feccenti'ics'have pressed the tabulation paper i andtheirecordingiribboii against the price wheels;

causing the. ratchetipinswaiid price tapes to -'be ile'asechandereturned tOi theimn ImaI position;

after which aicontiniied tiii'ning 'of said eccentric shaft willautomatically loweri the'barBB'back to t its nez-ma .pc'sition andtoitwhere the devic'er will be ready for thennextoperation. i 1 t; From,theforegoin'gt it readily observed chats-when it is desired to recordthefsale- 'price Oman" article; it; 'eonly necessaryi-t'o 1)1111 thesaietpri'ceccorresponding with: that "indicatedion' ratchet p'ins back:tct a position indicating Fthe that :the numeral characters onfl'theunit price i tapesi'are zarraiiged thereomin such relation tothecnumeraisxron thecasing opposite said price tapes respective-slotsthat when the ratchet pin a on acertain tapeiis' moved to-a certainnumeral;

7 indicated sen the easing, the corresponding nu meralionujithe' pricetapie will be' moved to the exenableigflthei particulate thelisting-wane;

act rcquifetitposition hn the unitprice'wheelto wigs-is; wire;- and lalthereis meme-at iaily constructed mechanism for automati caliycontroilingisthe" relative? printing" positions I of the total pricewheels withtrespectntotheitdtai amountsthat havewbeen tabulated by theunit nested-respective1y,jitoI'onehend of the recording im les'zn; 49,5o, andiin also providing a: spe

numeral to be printed voIr is bestiillustratedvin Figs.:20, 2l,.and.22iThe numerals 793,194,; and :95 designate driving I wheels that. aresubstantially fixed, respectively, to the unit ,pricewheels 38,; 39, and40,.as-shown in;Fig;- 20,11e'ach of the saiddriving: wheels beingprovided with ten resilient'fingers'thatareevenly spaced .apart andmarginally disposed .t at an oblique angle around the'wheel, as shownin'iEig. 16. The numeral SHAv designatesian idlerfs'haft that-isrelatively; arranged with respectf'to the unit price wheeland'totalprice'wheel shafts, as

' shown in Figs. 1 and 16. 1 The three ratchet wheels 96,: 91., and98.jeach have ten ratchetteeth; preferably shaped as showninvFig.16,-andare revolubly mounted on said shaft 9 IA and: located I thereonin positions that will. cause them toengage, respectively, with thedn'vingwheels 93, 94, and 95. .The said ratchet'wheels 96,191, and'98are. provided;wrespectivelyg-iwith' gear wheels 99,

I00, and. -I I'} that are fixedzlthereon as shown'in FigivZL; The totalprice'wh'eel's' M, 42, 43, and 44 are provided, respectively, with. gearwheels I02, I03, I04, and I05, and'fsaidgear wheels are. fixed to, thetotal .price wheels-y; as'shown, in Fig.22

Three gear wheels I06, I01, and I08, of thetype shown in Fig. 23, areprovidedand fixed, respectively,;'to the total price wheels,- 42, and43.

An idler gear I09 is revolubly mounted on the shaft 29,, as shown inFig. 21,;and -isadapted to engage withsgears I08 and I05, shown inFig.22.

, 4 V --.It-*will be noted thatthe unit price wheel38 is connected toits'correspondingtotal price wheel 4I-by the;driving wheel 03, ratchetwheel 96,- and gears 99 and-I02; Likewise, the unit price'wheel '39 isconnected to the-total pricewheel by f it becomes necessary forthatoertain totalcprice wheel'to automatically operateitheadjacent total Iprice wheel in order to obtain an amount 're of'thesaidmechanismion'their respective shafts t'othe-numerali9 audit isdesired to addmore 1 than Q'byithe correspondingr' unit price; wheel,

quiring an additional figure: Three gear wheels I06, I01, and I08,- eachbeing formed with gear the. drive wheel 94, ratchet :wheel {91,and gearsI00 and 103; andffurthermore, therunit. price wheel. 40 is connected'tothe total price wheel 43,

bywthedri've wheelQ95, ratchet wheel 98, and ears-IO'Iand"I04;

E i As h'ereinbefores stated, each. unit "price wheel and each totalprice "wheel carries the numeral characters from. naught to nineinclusive. I It will I bez ohservedih Fig. 16 that the driving. wheel,

one ofiwhichis fixed'to each unit price wheel, is divided into ten"equal spacings by thespring fingers representing from naught tonineinclusive. Likewiselthe' idler ratchet wheel is divided into tenequalspacings and is geared to the total price wheel. The wheels arethusre- .volved one-tenth of a'turn to register each nu meral," and eachtotal price wheel-is revolved simultaneously and in'synchronism'with itscorresponding-unit pricewheel. It'will thus be seen that if the unitprice wheel 30, for example, were volved 'one-fifth'ofa revolution,arid'itshorrespondingtotal wheel II would be automatically tioned'thereon in such relation to the eccentrics teeth on one-tenth of theirouter periphery as shown in Fig. 2 3;"aregtherefore, provided'andfixed,- respectively, to thetotal pricewheels :41, 42, a'n'd'43',asshown in Fig. 22; The said gearwheels .I 06, I01, and I00 are adaptedto] engage, respectively, with the -idler gears J00, -I.0I',fand 100 andare fixed to their respective total price WhGBISjWlth the gearfteethilocated in a position tomesh withrtheir respective idler Tgearswhen the 'tota1;price:-whee1s "are turned from 9 tocIl g When any one ofthe said idler gears is thus'en gaged, it will 'be revolved one-stenthofa revolutionywhich-will turn thlcorrespondin'g. gear on the adjacenttota1-pri'de-whee1'onertnthgof a numeral revolution to a position .wherethenext will be in hne'to'be printed. 1

hated the preferred construction for accomplish-- ing this result, whichconsists in leading the paper :ribbon 61 between two friction'rollers63A and 64A and in fixing'agear IIO=on thexshaft,

of the roller 64A: and another "gear III on the eccentric shaft v13. Thesaidlgear III has a number of its teeth removed, as .shown'in-Fig. 24,to cause it to engage withthe roller: gearinter mittently and ispositioned on the eccentric shaft 13 in jsuchrelation to the eccentricsthereon as will enable it to engage the rolleroshaft'gear I'I0 onlyafter the eccentrics have pressed the listing paper and'the' recordingribbon against the price wheels an'dthus move the listing paper onlywhen it is completely free from the price wheels. The "paper isthusautom'atically moved to its next printing position after eachrecording'has-been made.

Likewise, it is necessary to automatically'move therecording ribbon toenable its entire surface to be :used. A gear 'II2 is, therefore,provided and :fixed onto the upper 'ribbon shaft 63, and

another "gear II4, having a number of its teeth removed "as shown in-Fig f13;is provided and,

fixed onto the eccentric shaft 13 and is also posias willcause it-toengage with the recording ribbon shaft gear II2' only after theeccentrics have pressed the ribbon against the price wheels, thusimparting movement to the ribbon only when it is'completely free fronithe price wheels. I It is desirable to resilientlyhold the recordingribbon'band tightly on its shafts when the de-' revolved one-fifth of ,arevolution and" will also register the numeral 5. The same relationexists between the other unit price wheels and their corresponding totalprice wheels tocompute and total the amount. of 1 prices desired;

In the present device there are provided four total price wheels, twofor dollars and two for cents, which will add up to$99.99. Whenacervice'isin operation and-to have simple means to V cause-the ribbonband to become-loose on-its shafts whenever it is. necessary to removethe same; The lowerribbonshaft 64 :is revolubly mounted inza bearingthat is formed at one end,

of a" lever.ll 5,tha't ispivotally supported into the walls of thecasing 35 by ashaft I I6, and the bearing end portion of said lever isresiliently held downwardly by a spring II1, asshown in Figs. 1 and '3.A round hole 36E is provided in f the-casing cover'35 to fen'able theoperator of the device to pressthe spring end of the lever s 62 .on itsshafts 63 and 64 wheneverit is desired t I l 7 ct 2,328,861" downwardlywith a lead pencil to raise the! opposite end and thus loosen. theribbonband togethenan'dthe handle 8| is then turned in an anti-clockwisedirection until the shaft catches s to change the ribbon. An opening36G, of af" said opening is .providedland connected to the casing, orcasing cover, as shown in Fig. 3.

plurality of holes 36H.is provided through the the listing paper byturningthe handle 8|, it is total price wheels by a continued turning ofing .a specially constructed; clutch. mechanism that is adapted toengage and disengage the shaft 80, upon which the handle BI is fixed,with v H9 that is appliedagainst a disc,'l20,as shown in Fig. 10,saiddi'sc being substantially fixedto 'lever I2] is provided, thelowerend of which is in Fi liL but may haveany other form that will and 46are in their normal position, the shaft 80isconnected to the eccentricshaft 14 by the gears "18A and 19. (SeeFigs. 1, 10,and 12.)

8|; As shown in Fig. 29, the total price wheels to permit them to beindependently revolved,-

ired to retract the said total price wheels after a total sales pricehas been recorded, the topof he lever 1 2| is moved in the direction ofthe sufiicientsize to permit the listingpaper 61 and I" he recordingribbon 62 to be changed, is formed t into the side of the casing, and acover H8 for;

- top of the casing cover and located, as shown inaFig. 2, to allow forinking the recording ribbon; After avtotal sales price has been printedon necessary to retract the totalprice wheels back yto theirnor malposition. Inforderto simplify;

theoperation, it isdesirableto retractthe said J said handle 8!. This isaccomplished by providprovidea' suitable clutch when theshafts 80 arrowA (Fig. which disengages'the gears in aspring catch, as shown in Fig.30, ;and the" 1 total price wheels will then-all be back in theirno'rrnalposition and readyfor the next operation. c Thelnumeral I23designates a, spring having one end secured to the bottcm of. the casingand ,its opposite free end capable. of contacting and resilientlyholding "the total price wheel gear l in the predetermined movedpositions. v i

i "It is to be understood thatthe formof my invention herewith shownandtdescribedjis to be taken as a preferred example of thesame and,

thatfvarious; changes relative to the material, sizegshape andarrangement of partsmay be resorted to without departing from. thespirit of c the inventionror' the scope of the subjoined claim.

for use in combination with aflroll of record tape,

y the total pricewheel shaft 46. i The} ends of the c said shafts arespaced apart by a coiled spring -Having thus describedmy invention, Iclaim: An adding device of the character described comprising, a.casingQmeans for revolublysupporting a roll of record tape therein,means for enabling the free end of; the recordtape to ex:

.the 'shaft80 in anysuitablemanner. A clutch tendthrough thecasing,"means for holding a i portion of 'the record tape in a positionto be 1 printedaplurahty or wheels revolubly mounted} i .within thecasing and arranged in juxtaposition pivotallyconnected to the casing bybeing in-j terposed between twopins l22 that are fixed emme shaft. Theupperfendof said lever; projects through a slot 36J that is providedin].

thecasing cover, as shown in-Fig. 2 The ends.

off the shaftsf8ll and 46 are preferably formed with a tongue'and grooveconstructiomasshown This enables the eccentric shaftjto belturnedto,*print the total sales price by turning the. handle l are free to turnon the shaft, 46 in one direction l c v c ut are' alllocked to saidshaft withrespectto' urning in the oppositedirection. When it is de- .totherecord tape, a plurality of printing tapes individually fastened ontosaid wheels and adapted to'flbe wound thereon and; unwound their normalpositions to different printing positions, means including a springforreturn in g theprinting, tapes to their normal positions, and meansincluding a manually operative eccentric member which, when turned to acertainposition, presses the record tape against .the ribbon blandcausing :the record tape to be: printedand when turned to anotherposition releases the printing tapes, imparts movement to the ribbonband andr-moves the record tape to its next printing positionautomatically.

RICHARD THOMAS.

18A and "1a and connects th shafts so and 45"

